Syracuse community members rally against state education cuts

The Alliance for Quality Education and Citizen Action of New York kept up their drumbeat against state education cuts this evening with a rally at Hughes School in Syracuse.

The front of the Hughes cafeteria was lined with a dozen posters that featured Syracuse students to put a human face on the cuts. Roughly 45 adults and older students, plus younger children, showed up, among them parent Juanita Dowell and her son, Jabiri Thomas, a third-grader at Porter Elementary School, whose photo was on one of the posters.

Dowell said she fears the budget cuts will result in overcrowded classes and her son’s school already lacks the tutors and other resources it needs to give struggling students extra help. The Syracuse school district eliminated about 464 jobs this school year to balance its budget after its state aid got cut.